UK Fire Chiefs take home £17m in pay and perks – and 20 take home more than Prime Minister
Published: 20 September, 2010
As part of the largest ever investigation into public sector jobs paying £100,000 ($156,000) or more, a UK TV documentary maker (Panorama) with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (a not-for-profit organisation based out of City University London) has examined the pay culture of British Fire & Rescue services revealing an annual wage bill of over £17m ($26m).
Based on information gathered from financial accounts and information requests, figures for 51 services have been placed into the most comprehensive public pay database ever constructed.
London Fire Service tops the league, paying out £1.3m ($2m) to 11 senior staff members. Lincolnshire and Essex follow with eight each, while Hampshire and West Midlands make up the top five with seven. 20 fire personnel across the country take home more than the prime minister. London Chief Ron Dobson tops the pay league, taking home £183,265 ($285,700). Lincolnshire's chief Tony McArdle comes second on £172,499 ($268,000) and Avon's third is Kevin Pearson on £167,097 ($260,000).
The figures also show:
- That the top ten wage bills were paid by London, Lincolnshire, Essex, West Midlands, Hampshire, Staffordshire, Avon, Greater Manchester, Kent and Cheshire
- An average salary for senior fire chiefs of £120,039 ($187,000)
- Nobody in the fire service earned more than £200,000 ($312,000)
Liverpool Fire Chief Tony McGuirk, who caused controversy last week by calling some public sector workers "bone idle", comes fifth highest with a salary of £160,500 ($249,000) excluding pensions. In all, Merseyside Fire & Rescue employ four people on wages over £100,000 ($156,000) at a collective cost of £547,305 ($854,000) - making their average pay £16,000 ($25,000) higher than the national level.
The figures were taken from the single largest investigation into public sector pay ever undertaken in the UK. Over 38,000 individual's earn £100,000 ($156,000) or more. Salaries were taken from annual reports, statements of accounts and freedom of information requests. In all, 9,187 people were found to be earning more than the UK Prime Minister and a thousand are on over £200,000 ($312,000).
At a time when the UK Coalition government has pledged to radically cut costs and freeze all public sector pay over £20,000 ($31,200), Panorama reporter Vivian White looks at the stories behind the numbers to find out if the country's top earners are giving the tax payer value for money.
Iain Overton, editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, said: “The challenge for the government is clear: how can you justify the top salaries of the people running the system while making swingeing cuts that are most likely to affect the lowest paid in the public sector?”
Panorama: “Because they’re worth it, tax payers’ rich list” can be seen on BBC One at 8pm, Monday 20 September 2010.
Note: all figures quoted in $ are approximate and for guidance purposes only.
